New Launches: Joyco, Perfetti Aim For Bigger Bite

Cola majors are now inspiring confectionery companies in framing their marketing strategies. Or so it seems.

In the latest such move, Joyco India, one of the significant players in the Rs 1,100-crore confectionery industry, has launched an extension of its flagship bubble gum brand Boomer as Boomer ‘Jhatka’ to counter close competitor Perfetti India’s liquid filled sour chewing gum Centre Shock. Perfetti, meanwhile, after test-marketing Centre Shock in select cities, is currently rolling out the brand nationally, Perfetti officials said.

Launched in the South about three weeks ago, Joyco’s Boomer ‘Jhatka’ (which means Shock when translated into English) is believed to have a sharp lemony flavour a la Perfetti’s Centre Shock. The product is priced at Re 1 and is available in flow pack.

The move is strategic for Joyco which has been claiming the market leader position in the gums category and has fuelled growth in the category from a level of Rs 35 crore in 1995 to over Rs 300 crore in 2002. “However, with just one gum brand in its kitty (though Boomer accounts for about 60 per cent of the company’s turnover), it is strategic for Joyco to strengthen and expand its turf,” says an industry analyst. Perfetti, on the other hand, has three gum brands—Big Babol bubble gum, Centrefresh and Centre Shock chewing gum and Happydent White.